About Us

Vision

We envision a future where people can live their best lives possible during serious illness.

Mission

Our mission is to make conversations about serious illness a part of everyday life and palliative care a part of everyday health care.

Our Approach

The Coalition for Compassionate Care of California (CCCC) works collaboratively with members, health systems and providers, patient advocacy groups, professional associations, and policy- and lawmakers to promote high-quality care for those who are seriously ill or nearing the end of life. Creating this change is bigger than any one individual or organization can achieve on their own: It requires systems change and continuous improvement.

–Victor J. Dzau, President, National Academy of Medicine (NAM), in remarks at the NAM meeting on Assessing Progress in End-of-Life and Serious Illness Care

Activities

We work to change systems through:

Public Policy Educating policymakers and advocating for policy changes.
Healthcare Systems Developing, testing, supporting, and standardizing more effective models for healthcare delivery and payment.
Professionals Educating professionals and empowering them through better skills.
Public Educating and engaging all Californians about informed choice, documenting wishes, advocating for the care they need,
no more and no less.
National Engagement Participating at the national level to promote improved care for the seriously ill at all levels.

Accomplishments

Click here to download a copy of CCCC's Accomplishments for 2025.

Current & Recent Projects

Public Policy

  • Providing subject-matter expertise to the state in developing a statewide electronic registry for POLST
  • Legislation to bring advance care planning (ACP) into the electronic age
  • Leadership related to California's Master Plan on Aging
  • Advocating for better reimbursement and concurrent care delivery models

Healthcare Systems

  • Standards for community-based palliative care
  • Standards for palliative care, POLST, and ACP in nursing homes
  • Assisting organizations with implementation of ACP systems

Healthcare Professionals

  • Education and skill building on ACP, POLST, cultural sensitivity, healthcare ethics
  • Materials to support conversations with patients
  • Annual Summit to convene the community, share best practices and innovative approaches

Public Engagement

  • Actively promote palliative care and ACP through social media
  • Groom patient leaders to be spokespersons on palliative care
  • Promote tools to support persons with developmental disabilities and cognitive deficits in engaging in ACP

Values

Collaboration | Innovation | Self-Determination | Compassion | Authenticity